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1.20.2009

A New Dawn

This morning, as I watched the 44th president of the United States of America being sworn in, my heart swelled with pride. Pride in a nation that was willing to cross boundaries never thought possible to achieve the best. A nation that is standing up and moving on, ready to face the obstacles that are ahead of us.

For the first time in a long time I feel hope. I'm hopeful that our country will recover. So much has happened in the last several years, and the last year has felt like one batch of bad news after the other. When you're waking up in the same nightmare day after day it becomes hard to hope that someday there will be a better way and a brighter future. Listening to his conviction and measure of dedication to working towards that better tomorrow makes me believe that it can be done, despite the obscene amount of hurdles in the way.

And finally, I was inspired. The American people have been at odds with their neighbors and their world for far too long, feeling their voice doesn't count and that the odds are too insurmountable to be bothered with. Today a nation crowded into our capitol and congregated around their televisions as one, ready to watch history in the making and witness the start of something new.

My kids are too young to remember this at all, but someday I will tell them about the day that boundaries were crossed and a country came alive again. I will recall the tears in peoples' eyes, the way a nation opened its heart and mind, and how in that moment we began the journey once again to become one nation, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. Because YES, WE CAN!